- I know this is a bigger question than OpenLearn, but:
- Do you agree that we have a lot more potential to realize, and if so
- How do you think this might be achieved “ what are some of the factors (are you planninganything relative to OpenLearn)?”
@Ken Yes there is a lot more potential to realize but it will be a long time a-coming. The reasons for delay are changing cultures, the potential stems from the very openness or OERs. Many promises have been made or expected from ICTs, e-learning etc but impacts have been less than expected. While some of that is down to hype I think a major factor has been the entrenched exclusivity of teaching practice – generally only the students see it and through the eyes of a learner, not a teacher. One of the most significant impacts at MIT appears to be the way faculty are now adjusting their courses and lectures in the light of seeing what fellow faculty are teaching (even if that is only the content) . So not only might they be making a little extra effort to make their own content look 'good' they are adjusting it to the hoped for benefit of the students. None of this involves direct cooperation or collaboration but it does lead to enhanced coordination through the openness of the content. Then there are the similar inter-institutional effects and the increased scope to draw upon or point to resources from elsewhere. But detailed reworking or mash-ups are still the preserve of the dedicated few at the moment because it is best done as a team and does need that more overt recognition from promotions etc to make people devote the time and energy to it. However, the very openness of the content to all, not just other teachers means that teachers will not be able to ignore it in the way they could pre-defined collection or repositories because their students or others did not know what was available elsewhere.
In effect this is an emerging gift economy played out on the internet and is of a nature not previously seen, slowly changing the relationships between teachers and learners and others in numerous ways in all countries, not just the rich ones.
What are the OU doing about it? We are experimenting and innovating in as many spaces as we can. OpenLearn is content led, SocialLearn which Martin Weller talked about is technology led. Both are trying to understand what people want to do about learning throughout their lives and in different contexts. We aim to do things at scale but still be personal - mass customisation - whether on our own or in partnership with others.
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